Democrats, Unions Vital for Lieberman
THE FIX BLOG
By Chris Cillizza on Senate
One of the strongest union backers of Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman during his Democratic primary run (which ended in defeat) is sticking with the incumbent as he competes as an independent in the general election.
"Even though the Democratic establishment is abandoning the three-term senator to line up behind Ned Lamont, the [International Association of Firefighters] will continue to stand with Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman," said union head Harold Schaitbarger. "In our view, party labels don't matter."
The IAFF decision counters the United Auto Workers' endorsement of Lamont announced last week. UAW didn't endorse a candidate in the primary.
Other labor organizations either haven't committed to a candidate or are staying completely out of the contest. Neither the Service Employees International Union, which was also neutral in the primary, nor the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, who backed Lieberman in the primary, has chosen a candidate for the general election. The AFL-CIO did not endorse a candidate in the primary and will not do so in the general election.
In order to defeat Lamont in the fall, Lieberman needs to hold on to those Democrats who are currently supporting him. An August 17 Quinnipiac University poll showed Lieberman up 49 percent to 38 percent overall, and losing to Lamont 60 percent to 33 percent among Democrats. In an American Research Group poll released Aug. 22 , Lieberman led Lamont 44 percent to 42 percent among all the voters surveyed (Republican candidate and former state Rep. Alan Schlesinger took three percent), while trailing 65 percent to 30 percent among Democrats.
Lieberman knows he needs to keep those 30 percent (or so) of Democrats who currently support him on board until November. Losing major labor endorsements could make that difficult -- especially considering that Lamont has won the support of nearly every national Democrat. (Lamont secured another major player when Howard Wolfson, a member of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's political inner circle, signed on as an adviser to the campaign over the weekend.)
Lieberman's path to victory is also hindered by his perceived strong support for the war in Iraq. Not surprisingly, Lieberman is working to mollify Democratic voters concerned about the war. He has called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and late last week said he would consider a proposal offered by Connecticut Republican Rep. Chris Shays that would establish a timetable for U.S. troops to leave the country. |
